Some naval gazing; I have deleted my blogroll, refreshed my OPML file, and wired the "blog roulette" at right into the OPML.  Back in 2003 it was cool to have a blogroll, but now it just doesn't seem at all useful.  Poof.

I am happy to see my blog's traffic rising!  Yippee that means people have actually noticed that I'm posting again.  This blog is ego driven, so the feedback is great.  Thank you.

So, what's happening in the Blogosphere, shall we see?

The always invaluable Charles Johnson at LGF reminds us that France is not America: How Many Cars Torched?  The punch line is that the night after Nicholas Sarkosky's victory in the French Presidential election, 730 cars were burnt.  Hmmm... 

I don't know what is worse, that 730 cars were burnt, or that the AP reported 367 instead.  The blatant bias there is incredible...

Update: LGF reports both trends continue, more violence, more cars burnt, and the mainstream media continues to underplay the situation.

Posting about science vs faith reminded me to mention a study published in the American Heart Journal: The Study of Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer.  This study of 1,800 patients concluded that praying for patients who underwent bypass surgery did not help.  You're shocked, I know.  [ via Boing Boing ]  Perhaps more shocking is the fact that actual time was spent on such a study, when more important factors than wishful thinking could have been investigated. 

Cycling news: Ivan Basso has admitted his involvement in the Puerto scandal.  Wow.  He was arguably the second best stage rider at the end of the Lance Armstrong era, edging out Jan Ullrich, who retired last February under a doping cloud himself.  Bad stuff.  I wonder if the sport of cycling can honestly recover? 

Jason Kottke: No matter how many times I see the photos, the proximity of the runway to the beach at the St. Maarten airport amazes me.  Yep, me too! 

So, I love to read, and I don't love to lug books around, and I love gadgets.  I'm in the natural sweet spot for an electronic book reader, right?  Right.  But they all suck.  The screens aren't good enough, they're heavy, they're hard to use, the screens aren't good enough, they have DRM issues, battery life is iffy, and the screens aren't good enough.  Right?  Well, maybe it is time; Brad Feld reports good things about his Sony Reader... 

Did you ever have a DIGI COMP I?  Yeah, me too.  And boy did I love it.  Well now you can build your very own!  If that isn't a nerds delight, I don't know what is...  [ via Engadget ]